Developers Have Big Plans For Union Station

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DENVER (CBS4) – Amtrak service has returned to Union Station and developers hope the site will eventually be a transportation hub for the entire region.

Amtrak service officially resumed at Union Station on Friday with the departure of Amtrak’s California Zephyr to Chicago.

Developers feel it is just step one for many exciting things to come for Union Station.

“All of these tracks and platforms are all brand new. There’s more shelter for our passengers now, and there will be more connections for our passengers,” said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

The hope is that it will also usher in a new chapter for downtown Denver.

“It’s really kind of the start of this whole revitalization of LoDo. The Union Station is iconic in Denver, so we’re really excited to make it more bustling by having this multimodal hub,” said Tara Miller from RTD FasTracks.

A new underground bus facility opens in May while the retail, restaurant and hotel portion debuts in July.

The commuter rail, including service to Denver International Airport is slated for 2016 and future Denver residents are enthusiastic about Colorado’s transportation future.

“It makes it easier. If everything’s connected, you can hop on one thing, go on something else,” said Amtrak passenger Nick Kolatski.

“We can do bus, light rail, commuter rail, pedestrian, bike, taxi. It really is everything converging in what we call the crown jewel of Denver,” said Miller.

The first westbound Amtrak departure left Saturday morning to San Francisco.